<p>Only 7 days of cruising left for the Class of 2014 parents. :"> </p>
<p>AvonHSDad–the cruise must be almost complete. Hope everyone disembarked at their chosen locations and are celebrating!</p>
<p>VAMom2015 - As of last night there were still two undecideds in this year’s class. I don’t know if it is the kid’s indecision or if the parents are jockeying to see who gets off last as the last passenger to disembark gets to take the Margarita machine home with them. </p>
<p>Anialways, as an international parent I empathize with you. Bittersweet as we see our ‘child’’ making a life in a new country so far from home. Lots of pride but some sadness too.</p>
<p>Yikes, just checked next year’s academic calendar to see when graduation is so I can make hotel reservations. Wait, weren’t they just high school seniors?</p>
<p>Isn’t that scary? Graduation next year is on May 17th and I did tell H to make reservations as soon as they open up. My parents are talking of coming up here for graduation - keeping my fingers crossed that health won’t be an issue. Like anialways, my dad turns 80 next year…</p>
<p>D is very busy with finals - has four exams next week and then comes home for three weeks before heading out for her research internship. </p>
<p>@anialways, I’ve forgotten. Are you in London/Hong Kong? Or was that someone else?</p>
<p>Our boy graduated a year ago and started a software company graduating. He has been CEO but is turning the reins over to someone extremely senior – he thought the challenges of the company were getting more complex. They even turned down a modest acquisition for. But, with the new leader coming in, ShawSon is going off to graduate school on the opposite coast at the epicenter for tech startups. So we wonder if he will make it back to the East Coast again. So he is probably a lot closer than your D but it is still a meaningful flight. </p>
<p>ShawD finished exams and has a week off. She then starts summer term, but is working three shifts this weekend at the hospital. Fall semester will be her last undergrad semester. </p>
<p>My mom turns 90 this month. Still mentally sharp – she has a PhD – and goes to the gym 3-5 days per week. Still drives and flies to DC. She is being honored next week in NJ and in Jerusalem. Something to aspire who. </p>
<p>@samuck…yes as International parents, it is one of those moments in life when we talk of making choices. Like all parents we want our child to be happy wherever they are. The only difference from local parents is, on a long weekend if the child cannot make it home at least the parents can drop in and get to spend some time together. And we do miss that. But these days technology provides some relief…the skype, the facebook, whatsapp…</p>
<p>@shawbridge…I am from India.</p>
<p>I really like how the conversation now includes our parents as well…good luck and good health to all our parents.</p>
<p>I have a college senior- how did that happen?</p>
<p>D is done with junior year! In the midst of packing/moving her stuff to storage right now and should be home either tomorrow or Sunday. Right in time for Mothers’ day! She has a three week break and then is headed to Florida for her research internship for the summer. Talking to my parents’ this morning - they were marveling at home time flies…remembering how they were here just a <em>little</em> while ago for her high school graduation :)</p>
<p>D was done with most of her classes last weekend. She has one last final paper to turn in today by 5, in Spanish (her major). She will start driving home tomorrow and be here sometime Sunday. It is a 16-17 hour drive one way, she will stop at my parents and sleep Saturday night (her route takes her within 15 minutes of their house, anyway).</p>
<p>D then leaves again on Thursday for the summer, she will be working in Virginia this summer. She will be home long enough in August to take the MCAT, then leave for her fall semester in Cuba as part of her Spanish major.</p>
<p>Some things never change. I had a hard time keeping up with her in high school, even harder now that she is 21, has her own car, and is figuring out how to pay for things without asking me for money. I had told her I had already paid for her to be in Costa Rica for a semster, Cuba wasn’t in my financial plans. She figured out how to pay for it without taking out additional loans, so she is going.</p>
<p>@bajamm good for her for figuring out how to pay for it herself! </p>
<p>S had his last final this morning, we packed the car after lunch, and arrived home about an hour ago. Hard to believe he is now a college senior. He thinks this 4 years is gong much faster than high school did. He starts his summer internship/job next Wednesday. It will take him until then to move everything upstairs and sort out all the stuff we hauled home. </p>
<p>It has been awhile since I have put out a brunch for you all… come on over and celebrate the end of Junior year! Do you all remember the end of Junior year of high school? I think I like this one better.</p>
<p>There is coffee, tea, juice, bagels, toast, fresh fruit and eggs made to order. Come on over for a bit.</p>
<p>Thanks for the brunch, Bajamm! Congrats to all the students finishing their finals. My D’s study abroad program doesn’t finish until the end of June, so she will be probably be our last Junior. She left on January 2nd, and has loved every minute in New Zealand, but it’s gone pretty slowly for me. I have new appreciation for what international parents like Anialways and Samuck experience. </p>
<p>Happy Mother’s Day to all the HS Class of 2011 moms!</p>
<p>We will bring S11 home on Wednesday. He will then be busy preparing to fly out early Sunday morning for 10 week internship. He plans to fly directly back to school when that ends in August. We will drive items needed down to school and join him then. I feel more like his Sherpa than his mom. That 's ok- he is forging ahead to take advantage of opportunities. </p>
<p>D is home - came home the night before Mothers day. She was the only kid representative for six of us empty nesters, Felt good to have her home. She got her last grades this morning and did extremely well this semester (as usual!). She’s here for three weeks, relaxing, regrouping a bit before heading off for her research internship in the beginning of June, I am hoping she will clean her room - she said yes, but we’ll see what happens :)</p>
<p>Have any of your kids cleared their rooms from HS stuff? My d1’s bedroom still looks like it did when she was in HS. When I ask her to put the stuff away, her reply was she had a grown up room at college and she liked her room at home the way it is. We don’t need the room and at this point it is still technically her home. It is neat and tidy, I just find it amusing seeing the teddy bears on her bed and the trophies etc</p>
<p>My kids swapped rooms with his younger brother when he started college, so a lot of stuff got cleared out in the swap. Otherwise I’m sure it would be completely unchanged. He doesn’t spend enough time at home to actually do any organizing!</p>